In the moral version of human history – expressed in the Quran, Bible, and Torah – corruption is considered the worst reckless impulse that caused men to fall from grace. It was the betrayal of trust and loyalty for purely selfish gains. From that perspective, the root cause of corruption is individual moral shutdown, derailment […]
As part of the 69th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day in South Korea, special army soldiers staged a skills demonstration performance at the 2nd Fleet Parade Ground in Pyeongtaek. (The National/UAE) On October 1, China kicked off its celebration of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic with a […]
Twenty years on, one of the largest massacres in Europe since World War II continues to spur controversy, now threatening to further divide Russia and the West.
map: ChinaSmack Tensions escalated in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, as Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow separatist rebels, and Russia launched army drills near the border in response, raising fears its troops would invade. The Ukrainian action took place to recapture territory from the rebels, who have seized swaths of eastern Ukraine since April […]
Errol Morris’ latest documentary, the Unknown Known, about and starring Donald Rumsfeld offers a superb regard into the life of one of the most divisive American foreign policy makers. This is not only a picture about power, but also about truth, imagination, history and rational action. The Unknown Known provides an opportunity for international relations […]
The recent international shipping scandal involving the Chong Chon Gang, a decrepit, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea-flagged (DPRK) cargo ship with a dodgy track record has raised many important questions involving contemporary issues on the international laws of international security, maritime law, human rights, and labor rights. This high-profile incident occurred not long after the […]
As war continues to rage on in Syria with no signs of abating, there are renewed calls for the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute any international crimes they find there. Earlier this month, Switzerland led a group of more than 50 countries appealing to the Security Council for referral of the situation to […]
In an expert report released last week regarding the ongoing conflict in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, neighboring countries Rwanda and Uganda were both fingered as supporting the M23 rebel group, including implications that top officials of the Rwandan government actually issue the commands to the organization. The two top […]
He simply could not resist. The addiction of power won over his pledge; Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy made his return to political life by igniting a new controversy over the lack of action of French President François Hollande in Syria. In a joint statement with Abdulbaset Sieda, president of the Istanbul-based Syrian National Council […]
After more than a year of planning, much diplomatic hype, and thousands of attendees, last month’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro produced what one activist called a “failure of epic proportions.” The few agreements—including yet another “universal intergovernmental high level political forum” to talk some more—seemed to fall well short of the challenge […]
The UN Security Council met this week to consider whether or not climate change constituted a threat to international peace and security and, if so, what to do about it. As Deutsche Welle puts it here, “What might appear self-evident to many took days of complicated discussions and negotiations…” If droughts, heat waves, fires, ever-intensifying […]
Iraqi lawmakers are demanding the return of $17 billion they say was stolen during the second Iraq war.
Finally after seven months of a senate hold on his ambassadorial confirmation, veteran diplomat Thomas Shannon goes to Brasilia to smooth out the rougher edges of U.S.-Brazil relations and steer these two nations toward greater cooperation on such pending issues as energy and climate change, bilateral commerce, the Iran nuclear program, the G-20 deliberations, and […]